Character Creation

Character Creation in Chronicles of Elyria is unequal to other MMO games due to the fact that not only are you naming your player and choosing the way they look, but you're also choosing their soul, history, what part of the world (or continent) they'll start out at and what basic skills your character knows.

During the character creation process, you'll be able to choose your character's soul and filter certain traits to choose a fitting family, unless you decide to be a Ward of the State, which grants you no family, leaving you to start out in the world at a slightly younger age within an Orphanage.

Choosing A Soul

A soul in Chronicles of Elyria acts much like some beliefs about the soul in the real world. It holds your player's past memories, previous lives and earlier experiences.

According to legend, souls which currently do not possess an Elyrian host exist within the Akashic Records - a place for souls to recollect on their past lives, learn from their mistakes and accomplishments and await the day when they are to be reborn into a new Elyrian body.

Every player will choose their starting soul upon character creation. Which in turn, can also be transferred from one character to another - such as when your first character dies, the soul will be kept intact and can be reborn into a new character such as an heir, taking with it the skills it learnt in its previous life, letting you learn them much faster in the next.

Joining A Family

Families give players a supportive start in Elyrian life. They'll provide you with a roof over your head, basic starting equipment, a map and hints about what kind of locations are nearby (notable landmarks, buildings etc) the option to learn from your parent's skills and overtime even inherit their land.

If you were looking to be a Blacksmith for example, then you could choose to join a family with a history of Blacksmithing.
After you've selected certain details, you'll be given a variety of starting locations within the world map, showing relevant families which you can join to start your life at.

The Character Creation Screen Reads:

"As a child I was raised by my Parents. Growing up I was an only child. I would often see my parents coming home covered in soot from the forge. My Parents were always very distant and had little money."

The bold text represents options the player can choose in order to change the type of families they are able to select from.

Becoming A Ward

Alternatively, if you decide to become a Ward, then you'll start life within an Orphanage, rather than within a family.

You won't have the same starting skills as you would have if you had joined a family, as it is presumed that within a family, you would passively learn their traits while growing up.

Starting as a ward means that your skills will be pretty much blank, but in return, you'll have a few extra years to develop your character, starting life at the age of 12, rather than 15 if joining a family and for your first 3 years, you'll be able to learn skills faster.

Conclusion

So whether you choose a character within a family that already has a skill set, a home and a presence within their settlement, or start off as Ward and learn the skills yourself, both play styles will have equal opportunities to grow in whichever accomplishments you prefer.